People | Passion | Platforms

rss

I met someone the other day and having looked over their website, I happened to mention that the RSS feed from the site’s blog was called ‘RSS Feed’ – and not something useful like ‘John’s RSS Feed For All Things Amazing’ …..

The reply :

“It’s so funny when you mentioned the RSS feed – I didn’t know people still did that so I’ll definitely look into it.”

This person strikes me as very bolted into the world of business and tech, definitely switched on to the social media circus circuit … and her response is all too typical of what I hear from so many people. Which in turn means that I think it is one of the most serious issues we face today.

Surely you jest Mr. Philpin? I do not ….

(Consider the news that emerged over the weekend that Facebook 'unknowingly' sold advertising to Russian Troll Farms ..
"The ads -- both traditional advertisements and sponsored posts -- were intended to sow discord among the American electorate by amplifying "divisive social and political messages," Stamos said. These ranged from "LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights."
Allow that to sink in for a moment - and I know you would never be caught out by such obvious false influences .... except you are. We all are. All the time. That is why the art of the con is alive and well.
And no, RSS doesn't fix that all by itself - but it sure does help.

I wrote a long reply to my new friend about why RSS was important … and when it was finished, decided not to send it, but rather turn it into a blog post and just send the link, because it is something I come across a lot. This article is a personal position on RSS, a recognition that it needs to get easier and a plea that really – if you want news – getting it from your Social Feeds is not a good idea. Continue reading →

I like Jason’s writings – I track hundreds of feeds through my feedly news reader – but only a few qualify for my ‘must read’ section … 6 Colors is one of them. Kudos to him for what he has achieved I the past year.

Separately – yet related – this book is designed to help your child learn.

@DaveWiner is a man that I do not know – but read a lot of his words – and generally am in agreement with his ideas and principles. It was Dave that finally inspired me to close down Facebook. The walled garden, taking my content, it all is fine – but I found myself ONLY posting there – and ignoring my other channels.

But all that’s old news. This morning reading through my daily feeds (provided by the mighty Feedly organization) I saw this post right at the top of the page … BRILLIANT – true Netizens working for the common good.

We all have a love/hate relationship with EMail. Go on. Admit it. We all want it to go away, but no matter how much we keep going on about how bad it is – we don’t disconnect. This is not to defend EMail. It does have serious problems. But if your car or phone has a problem – you fix it. You don’t just throw it away and / or stop using it. And you know that this isn’t the first time I have written about this.

I guess it started when I kept hearing the line that EMail is dead and broken – Social Media is the way. How people would say that the “First thing I do each day is ‘check my linkedIN / Facebook / Twitter” Facebook Messages is EMail by another name. And really – SMS / MMS – more messages that use a different protocol to reach you.